LICENCE POT GROWERS

Editor, The News:

Re: Pot dispensary still a 'great concern' (The News, May 28).

If Maple Ridge council is concerned about medical marijuana being
grown in people's homes, then they should welcome the presence of a
cannabis dispensary in their town.

Most of the sick and dying people who need medicinal cannabis products
would rather not have to grow their own medicine, just as those
suffering from a severe infection would rather not have to produce
their own homemade Penicillin.

By providing patients with a safe and secure location to purchase
cannabis products, the number of people forced to grow their own
medicine will decrease, thus reducing the number of grow-ops in the
city.

As a director of both the Taggs dispensary and the Vancouver Cannabis
Dispensary Society, I know that we do everything we can to ensure that
all of our cannabis medicines are produced in a safe and responsible
manner.

It is a mistake to demonize patients who are simply trying to follow
the rules and produce their own medicine at home.

Health Canada should step up and create a regulatory scheme whereby
professional growers are licenced to produce medicinal cannabis
products for distribution through pharmacies and dispensaries.

Until that time, we are doing the best we can to provide cannabis
medicine to our patients in a way that benefits the entire community.

We are glad to read that there have been absolutely no complaints
received by either the RCMP or city officials.

Dana Larsen

Vancouver